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The U.S. Government Food Pyramid: Does It Provide The Best Diet Guidelines?

The food pyramid is a relatively new tool in the history of nutritional guidelines. For about one hundred years, the term "food group" was in vogue.

From 1894 until 1992, the food groups went from five to twelve to seven to four. I still remember, in 1979, my fourth grade teacher getting on my case because I hadn't eaten a breakfast from the four food groups (only three) that morning.

In 1992, the U.S. goverment decided that a food pyramid would be a more comprehensive and comprehensible way to show the kinds and quantities of foods we should eat in order to be healthy.

Has it done its job? Have Americans become healthier since the inception of the food pyramid?

Let's see. Most U.S. citizens continue to die of horrible diseases that are entirely preventable by good nutrition. Of course, it could be very well possible that the vast majority of Americans ignore the government's nutritional guidelines.

Some critics of the food pyramid believe that its content is influenced more by food industry lobbyists who don't want to lose their bottom line, than by nutrition researchers who know what truly healthy eating looks like.

Ways in which the food pyramid falls short

I went to the official food pyramid website and clicked on "MyPyramid Plan." The first thing I noticed was that it didn't care about my blood type, body type or metabolic type. I was an adult woman, and therefore I am supposed to eat the same amount of grain, meat, etc., as every other adult woman given my activity level.

The next thing that I noticed was that the vegetable and fruit servings were puny. Two and a half cups of vegetables may sound like a lot to some people, but it's not nearly enough to get the nutrients and antioxidants our bodies need.

I continued my investigation by clicking on the "tips" for each food category. Now, I understand that Americans are into convenience, and these tips are the food pyramid creators' ways to show Americans how covenient eating healthy can be.

But these suggestions, if I may use the vernacular, grossed me out.

Buy pre-washed bags of salad greens. First of all, those bags of greens are ridiculously expensive. Second, and worse, the conventional baby greens are soaked in toxic chemicals to keep them looking fresh.
Use a microwave to quickly "zap" vegetables. If you don't yet understand the dangers of using a microwave oven, read this article. They should use the word "kill" in place of the word "zap", because your food is practically worthless after it's been heated in the microwave. And guess what--it doesn't take any more time to heat frozen veggies on the stovetop!
Canned fruits and vegetables are okay. Canned produce has very little, if any, nutrient value.
Snack on ready-to-eat, wholegrain cereals. More dead food. Filled with synthetic vitamins that suppress your adrenal function.
Avoid raw milk. For the truth about raw versus pasteurized milk, read this article.

2 major problems with the food pyramid

A compelling reason to believe that the food pyramid may be influenced by the food industry is its recommendations for grain consumption. The government tells us that half of our grains should be whole grains.

Half. Half?!

In other words, half of our grain intake may come from refined grains. Refined grains, as in flour that has been soaked in bleach and who knows what other chemicals. Refined, as in, no nutritional value.

Refined, as in THE EXACT KIND OF FOOD YOU WILL NOT FIND IN THE DIETS OF PEOPLE WHO HEAL THEMSELVES NUTRITIONALLY FROM DISEASE.

Refined, as in THE ONE FOOD COMPLETELY ABSENT FROM SOCIETIES WITH THE GREATEST LONGEVITY.

I'm not trying to be a nutrition Hitler here. If you have birthday cake once a month or so, and the rest of your diet is excellent, it will not undermine your health. However, consuming refined grains daily in the quantity the food pyramid allows means a higher risk of developing all sorts of disease.

raw meat in shape of question mark

The other major problem with the government's idea of healthy eating is that it is anti-saturated fat. Read books like The Maker's Diet, Nourishing Traditions, and Real Food and you discover that the human body needs saturated fat, for optimal immune function, for brain function, and more.

You find, as well, that to eat low-fat versions of foods, such as milk, that are naturally high in fat, can actually sabotage your health. For example, a certain amount of saturated fat helps your body to better assimilate the minerals that you intake.

Is there anything good about the food pyramid?

Actually, the government didn't do such a horrible job with the pyramid, considering all the pressure they receive from the food industry. They could have caved in to the dairy industry, and declared the need for, say, six dairy servings a day. Or to the beef industry, and declared that steak is needed daily to meet your nutritional needs.

The pyramid does urge you to lay off the sweets and junk food. And I have no doubt that the strong encouragement to eat a lower fat diet comes from genuine concern for the increasing number of obese people in this country.

The food pyramid also recommends that you eat a certain amount of greens every week, and that your eat a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Still, following the government recommendations blindly will not lead to as healthy and as long a life as you may want. Why? Each body has unique nutritional needs.

May I coach you? Do your own research. (You might start with this article.) Find out what has brought others health and healing, then integrate your findings into an eating plan that works for you.

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